Ten day festival set to attract international and UK artists to historic Midlands town.
The historic town of Kenilworth is gearing up to welcome a host of famous names from the literary and music world for what is fast becoming one of the largest dedicated arts festivals in the area.
Kenilworth Arts Festival, running from Thursday 19th–Saturday 28th September, will present over 35 events in a wide range of venues, transforming the town into a world-class stage for arts, music, performance and the spoken word.
Artists from the UK and around the world will descend upon the town bringing with them the sounds of jazz, classical, acoustic and cinematic music. A diverse programme of talks and readings will give a platform to some of the UK’s leading writers and campaigners. Plus, art installations, family activities, film screenings, exhibitions, workshops and immersive events offer visitors the chance to enjoy new and one-off experiences.
First details of the festival line-up, now in its fourth year, were announced in June. Since then, organisers have added a whole raft of new artists and events, including talks from best-selling novelist Clare Mackintosh, The Guardian’s Amelia Gentleman, who was awarded Journalist of the Year 2018 after exposing the Windrush Scandal, and Nathan Filer, mental health nurse and award-winning author of the international bestseller The Shock of The Fall.
Pic – Rob Blackham www.blackhamimages.com
Two further concerts have also been added: an evening of contemporary folk music featuring emerging artists Joshua Burnside and Rosie Carney, and a double bill of cinematic, instrumental music which, in a UK premiere, will feature a joint performance from Polish cellist Resina and Brussels based composer Christina Vantzou. More recently, the festival has announced a series of film screenings, which includes a Midlands premiere of For Sama, which won the prestigious Prix L’Œil d’Or for Best Documentary at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival.
Combined with the events already announced, most notably a talk from award-winning human rights campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez and concerts from New Zealand singer-songwriter Nadia Reid and celebrated jazz group Darius Brubeck Quartet (pictured), this year’s festival programme promises to be one of the highlights of the 2019 arts calendar.
Lewis Smith, Artistic Director of the festival, said “The festival has grown year-on-year and we are proud to be able to welcome leading writers, musicians and artists to Kenilworth once again for our 2019 festival. This year’s programme showcases artists from all over the world and includes several UK premieres and exclusive performances, so it promises to be a very special ten days of events.
“We’re also proud that our programme continues to offer a platform for debate and discussion, with events exploring big issues such as gender politics, Windrush and mental health.”
For full listings and to book tickets go to www.kenilworthartsfestival.co.uk Tickets can also be booked at www.kenilworthbooks.co.uk
